KVIFF 2023: Iranian Love Story “Empty Nets” by Behrooz Karamizade

There is a growing number of fascinating young Iranian filmmakers reinvigorating and rethinking Iranian cinema. This is exactly what Iranian cinema needs now, and I'm glad they're making such interesting films. They are also films that I am happy to talk about and recommend, which is essential to their success outside of film festivals. One of the best known is Panah Panahi, son of Jafar Panahi, who won everyone over with his first feature film Hit the Road (from Cannes 2021). One of the next new filmmakers to make their mark is Behrooz Karamizade, who was born in Iran but moved with his parents, eventually growing up in Germany. Her feature debut is an Iranian romance film titled Empty Nets, which premiered at the 2023 Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Crystal Globe Competition section this summer. It tells a tragic story, as usual for Iran, about the painful and unrelenting harshness of society there. The characters even talk about it at one point, but they still try to live the best life possible and focus on what really matters.

In Empty Nets, what matters is the love between two young people. Hamid Reza Abbasi plays the role of Amir and he is in love with a young Iranian woman named Narges, played by Sadaf Asgari. We don't see how they fell in love, but that doesn't matter. Their chemistry in the opening scenes is off the charts. It is edifying to see, especially in an Iranian film where it is generally taboo. It's so wonderfully believable and touchable, I actually wondered if they were together in real life outside of the movie and the director cast them because they're so perfect on camera. Either way, they are deeply and madly in love and they seem perfect for each other. Alas, Amir is poor and doesn't have a good job, and Narges' family only cares about money and finding a rich husband for her. This is where the story begins its downward spiral. Amir, desperate for any good paying job, decides to work for a sketchy fishing company. His boss is an asshole, but he can't do much. He dives in and starts to work and gets lost in this world of greedy men. At least his colleague Omid, played by Keyvan Mohammadi, is a good guy and tries to keep his head above water.

What started to bother me was the score attributed to three different people: Saba Alizadeh, John Gürtler, Jan Miserre. It's actually a very beautiful score, but it's laced with such tragedy and endlessly dark sounds that I knew something bad was about to happen. Even during the early love scenes, the score kicked in with ominous "just wait for something to ruin this beautiful relationship" vibes. It's super depressing because I wanted to see a movie that finally had hope, that ultimately relied more on optimism than pessimism. Too many Iranian movies are so dark they're hard to watch, and in the end it's so desperate that I wonder why even tell this story. What does it change ? What's the point? Yes, of course it is bad in Iran and oppressive, and revealing it is important. But so much tragedy and little positivity do not encourage the optimism needed to build a better world. This movie gets closer and closer to that point, then jumps all the way and never goes back. Hope is thrown overboard and that makes the rest of the movie so sad…

It's hard to talk about this movie, because I really want to praise and recommend it. However, the ending is so pessimistic and tragic that it shattered all my good feelings. I would love to recommend half of this movie, the first half, to see what a great relationship can look like in Iran. And yes, of course, they have to overcome the challenges that are part of Iranian society and arranged marriages and greedy people (be they fishermen or parents). However, it would be so much more fulfilling, surprising, and refreshing to see them return to the realm of hope at the end. Turn that boat around, get it back on track. Even if that means it will end up as a "fantasy" that doesn't match the reality of life in Iran. I believe it's the optimism in the storytelling that can make the difference, that reminds us of love triumphs over all. At least it's supposed to... The love between Amir and Narges is so strong that I...